Coronavirus Update

(I)The Chronology (January-June 2021)

Coronavirus Update

January 1 (1) The World Health Organization (WHO) granted emergency validation to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on December 31, 2020, for countries worldwide to approve its import and distribution. The PfizerBioNTech vaccine was the first to receive “emergency validation” since the pandemic emerged. (2) China granted “conditional” market approval to a Sinopharm vaccine on December 31, 2020.

January 2 Vietnam reports the first imported case of the new coronavirus variant that spreads rapidly in the UK, according to the Ministry of Health. A variant is known as “VOC 202012/01.” The country records 1,474 confirmed cases with 35 deaths so far.

January 6 China denies entry to the WHO expert team at the last minute. The team has a mission to trace the origins of the coronavirus. WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that he is very disappointed.

January 9 More than 9 million doses of Chinese Covid-19 vaccines have been administeredin China, according to the National Health Commission (NHC). The vaccines are free to the public. The NHC also tells the press conference that China is ready to receive an investigation on the origins of Covid-19 by a WHO expert team. However, the specific time is being determined.

January 10 (1) Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reports 10,298 confirmed cases with 67 deaths in the country. Thailand ranks 129th in the global list of most confirmed cases.

(2) The NHC has received a report of 87,536 confirmed cases in China's mainland. The death toll is at 4,634.

(3) The global Covid-19 cases reach 90,045,410 with a total of 1,931,571 deaths worldwide, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. The US reported the most cases and deaths around the world, followed by India and Brazil.

January 13 Thai health officials hold a press conference to assure people that the Sinovac vaccine is effective enough to tackle the virus after the test results by Brazil’s Butantan Institute on January 12 showed that Sinovac is only 50.4 percent effective. The Health Ministry also requests further information about the Sinovac vaccine from Sinovac Biotech Limited. The Ministry has relied on the WHO suggestion that 50 percent efficiency is enough for emergency use.

January 14 The WHO team arrives in China for origin tracing of the coronavirus, according to China’s NHC. The team conducts joint research with Chinese scientists. The 10 WHO experts led by Peter Ben Embarek must be quarantined for 14 days before starting their work. On the same day, China also records its first Covid-19 death in 8 months in Hebei Province.

January 16 China News reports that Meng La county in Yunnan Province, which borders Laos and Myanmar is working on the construction of a new central isolation site to contain imported cases from abroad. It contains more than 2,000 rooms and 2,001 beds.

January 26 (1) The CCSA reports 959 new Covid-19 cases in Thailand, the highest number on a single day since the outbreak in 2020. The total number of confirmed cases rises to 14,646. The death toll is 75.

(2) The NHC reports that a total of 22.77 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in China. The mainland records 89,272 confirmed cases with 4,636 deaths.

January 27 Myanmar launches a Covid-19 vaccination program with healthcare workers. They receive shots of

AstraZeneca and Oxford University vaccine donated by India, according to the Health Ministry.

January 28 A team of experts from the WHO start its origintracing of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan.

January 30 16 Chinese coronavirus vaccines are undergoing clinical tests. 7 of them have entered Phase-III tests, according to the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. Sinovac and Sinopharm are being reviewed for emergency uses by the WHO.

January 31 The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces that the country has administered more than 24 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines. China planned to vaccinate 50 million people before the Chinese New Year.

February 1 (1) China's NHC reports 89,564 confirmed cases in the mainland with 4,636 deaths as of January 31. The confirmed cases in Thailand have risen to 19,618. The death toll remains at 77, according to the CCSA.

(2) China’s Ad5-nCOV vaccine developed by CanSino Biologics has reached pre-specified primary safety and efficacy criteria by its interim analysis. The company will continue to proceed with Phase-III clinical trials of the vaccine with more than 40,000 volunteers.

February 2 Vietnamese Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long reveals that a newly Covid-19 outbreak is caused by the contagious British variant of coronavirus. There are 1,851 confirmed cases with 35 deaths so far.

February 3 (1) A team of Chinese vaccine specialists provides a training course on how to use the Covid-19 vaccine to Cambodian medical staff ahead of its arrival. The opening ceremony of the training is held at the Preah Ket Mealea Hospital.

(2) China decides to provide 10 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the COVAX, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin. China officially joined the COVAX on

October 8, 2020. The COVAX plans to distribute at least 330 million doses to developing countries in the first half of this year.

February 4 (1) A WHO expert team had visited key facilities in Wuhan, Hubei Province, including Wuhan Baishazhou Agricultural Market, Huanan Seafood Market, Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hubei Provincial Center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Wuhan Institute of Virology, and talked with relevant administrative personnel, experts, businessmen, residents, and media representatives to search for the originsof the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the NHC. The team began field visits on January 28.

(2) Cambodia’s Ministry of Health authorizes the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccine. The total of confirmed cases in the kingdom is 470 with no deaths so far.

February 5 China’s National Medical Products Administration grants conditional market approval to CoronaVac developed by Sinovac Biotech. The Sinovac vaccine was approved for emergency use in China in June 2020. It is China's second self-developed Covid-19 vaccine that gets conditional market approval in the country.

February 7 (1) Cambodia receives the first batch of the Chinadonated 600,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine. Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian hands over them to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Phnom Penh International Airport.

(2) The Chinese mainland reports no new domestic cases and new deaths for the first time in 53 days since the latest outbreaks, according to the NHC.

February 8 (1) China has provided vaccine aids to 53 developing countries and exported vaccines to 22 countries so far, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin at the regular press conference.

(2) Laos receives 300,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines fromChina. The country has already started to inoculate 600 frontline medical workers, according to Lao Health Minister Bounkong Syhavong. There are 45 confirmed cases with no deaths so far.

February 9 The China-WHO expert team tracing the coronavirus origins reports at a press conference of the WHOconvened Global Study of Origins of SARS-CoV-2 China Part that the coronavirus may not originate from the Huanan seafood market and leak from labs in Wuhan. It remains unclear which species first transmitted Covid-19 to humans. There was no Covid-19 spread in Wuhan before December 2019. The joint team includes 17 Chinese experts and 17 international experts from 10 other countries. They conducted 28-day research in Wuhan. The next investigation will be in Southeast Asia.

February 10 Cambodia begins a Covid-19 vaccination campaign with Sinopharm. Hun Manet, the son of Prime Minister Hun Sen gets the first dose of the jab. The priority groups include frontline health workers, government officials, armed forces, and journalists, according to the Ministry of Health.

February 11 The NHC reports 89,748 confirmed cases with 4,636 deaths in China’s mainland.

February 12 Cambodia officially grants Sinovac vaccine for the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in the country, according to Health Minister Mam BunHeng.

February 15 There are 2,229 confirmed cases with 35 deaths in Vietnam.

February 16 The CCSA reports that the confirmed cases in Thailand had risen to 24,786. The death tolls are at 82.

February 22 Thailand approves the Sinovac vaccine for emergency use, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The authorization will be valid for 1 year.

February 23 Cambodia’s Ministry of Health reports 593 confirmed cases with no deaths. Prime MinisterHun Sen has approved the deportation of foreigners who violate the quarantine rules, escape treatment, and refuse cooperation with authorities.

February 24 The first batch of 200,000 Sinovac vaccines from China arrives in Thailand. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha receives it at Suvarnabhumi Airport. This batch is a part of 2 million doses of Sinovac vaccines that the Thai government ordered from Sinovac Life Science Company of China.

February 28 Thailand starts the Covid-19 inoculation campaign, using China's Sinovac vaccine, with ministers, health officials, and medical workers. Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul receives the first shot. The country has 25,591 confirmed cases. The death tolls are at 83. China's NHC reports 89,893 confirmed cases in the mainland with 4,636 deaths. There are 45 confirmed cases with no deaths in Laos, 141,896 confirmed cases with 3,199 deaths in Myanmar, 805 confirmed cases with no deaths in Cambodia, and 2,448 confirmed cases with 35 deaths in Vietnam.

March 2 Cambodia receives 324,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine provided by the Covax Facility. The country will receive at least 1,296,000 vaccines in total throughout this year, according to the COVAX Facility’s latest report. More than 60,000 people in the country have received the Sinopharm vaccine so far, including almost 47,000 military officials and around 13,500 civilians. Priority groups are politicians, armed forces, journalists, and health officials.

March 5 COVAX had delivered more than 20 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to 20 countries, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

March 8 (1) Vietnam starts a Covid-19 vaccine inoculation campaign, using the Astra Zeneca vaccine, according to the Ministry of Health. The country received the first batch of 117,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the British company on February 24. There are 2,524 confirmed cases with 35 deaths so far.

(2) China and Thailand had discussed the use of vaccine passports between the two countries. China urged Thailand to set up a center for vaccinating Chinese expatriates, according to Acting Chinese Ambassador Yang Xin.

March 9 Cambodian Health Ministry Spokesperson Or Vandine says that China’s Sinopharm vaccine is safe and effective with no serious side effects in the country.

March 11 Cambodia reports the first death from the coronavirus, according to the Health Ministry. The country records 1,124confirmed cases.

March 14 (1) The number of confirmed cases in Thailand rises to 26,927 with 86 deaths, according to the CCSA. The country ranks 116th on the global list of most cases.

(2) China’s NHC reports that 64.98 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines had been administered across China.

March 19 Thailand's CCSA approves the reduction of the quarantine from 14 days to 10 days for travelers, starting from April 1. It also plans to have further relaxation from June and quarantines free travel from October.

March 20 The second batch of 800,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine arrives in Thailand. Thailand is in talks with Sinovac Biotech to buy another 5 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine. The country’s original agreement with Sinovac Biotech called for 2 million doses of the vaccine. The first 200,000 doses arrived on February 24, 800,000 doses on March 20, and 1 million doses in April. As of today, the country has received 1

million doses of Sinovac and 115,000 doses of AstraZeneca for the vaccination program. 61,791 people had received jabs as of March 28 with priority given to health workers, frontline workers, members of the public, people with existing conditions, and people aged 60 or more.

March 21 Chinese Deputy Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Feng Zijian reveals at a news conference that China will continue to quarantine travelers arriving from overseas, including vaccinated people. The country will continue to implement centralized isolation and conduct nucleic acid tests on people entering the country. It will conduct different policies on visa issuance and the number of flights and arrivals according to the level of vaccination and pandemic control situation in different countries.

March 26 Health officials have rolled out more than 510 million Covid-19 vaccine doses around the world, according to the AFP. The WHO calls for richer nations to donate vaccines to help start the vaccination of poorer nations.

March 30 A joint China-WHO report on the origins of the coronavirus reveals that the virus most probably jumped from an animal, potentially a bat or pangolin, to humans through an intermediate animal host. It recommends further study of the possible path of transmission between animals and humans. The virus was an unlikely leak from a lab in Wuhan. Chinese Foreign Ministry expresses appreciation for the WHO research team and calls for further research in other countries and regions. However, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus raises concerns about the level of data access that China provided to the expert team during the investigation in Wuhan.

March 31 China's NHC has received reports of 90,217 confirmed cases and 4,636 deaths in the mainland.

The CCSA reports 28,863 confirmed cases with 94 deaths in Thailand.

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April 9 There are 2,603 confirmed cases with 35 deaths in Vietnam, 49 cases with no deaths in Laos, 142,434 cases with 3,206 deaths in Myanmar, and 2,440 cases with 11 deaths in Cambodia.

Cambodia starts to vaccinate its citizens with the Sinovac vaccine. It aims to inoculate around 745,000 people, according to Health Ministry Spokesperson Or Vandine. The Sinovac vaccine is the third Covid vaccine for the country’s inoculation drive after the Sinopharm and the AstraZeneca vaccines. More than 407,000 people had been vaccinated as of March 31.

Local authorities of Ruili City in Yunnan Province say at a news conference that the latest outbreak in the city is likely imported from Myanmar via people or goods as the gene sequencing showed the virus in the city is highly homologous and similar to the sequence reported by Myanmar.

A total of 139.97 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines has been administered across China, according to the NHC.

Ruili City launches the second round of mass nucleic acid testing due to a new surge of Covid-19. The first round was on March 31. About 70,000 Myanmar people are living in the city. The Ruili government formed a team of more than 1,540 volunteers providing Burmese language translation service to help Myanmar people in Ruili in testing and vaccination.

(1)Thailand’s Foreign Ministry reduces the quarantine period to 7 days for recipients of 8 vaccine brands, including Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Johnson&Johnson, Pfizer-BioNTech, Indian Serum Institute vaccine, Moderna, and Sinopharm.

(2)The NHC reports no new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases. China has 90,400 confirmed cases with 4,636 in the mainland.

April 10 (1) Cambodia reports 4,081 confirmed cases with 26 deaths. Authorities ban travel between provinces, impose a night-time curfew, and shut down tourist attraction sites. Prime Minister Hun Sen warns that quarantine breakers will be put into jail and civil servants will be fired if they go unvaccinated.

(2) The third batch of 1 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine arrives in Thailand. The number of confirmed cases in the country increases to 31,658. The death toll rises to 96. So far, 537,380 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been given to Thai people across the country.

April 11 George Fu Gao, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said in a forum on April 10 that the efficacy of Chinese Covid-19 vaccines is not high and requires improvement. His comments went viral on social media and then censored by the Chinese authority. Afterthat, George Fu Gao says that his comments were misinterpreted and he has just suggested ways to improve the efficacy of vaccines.

April 13 Thai Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul defends the quality of the Sinovac vaccine following reports that the vaccine has low protection rates. Moreover, Thailand cancels the Songkran Festival or the Thai New Year festival due to the pandemic.

April 17 A second batch of the Sinovac vaccine arrives in Cambodia. The country has received more than 3.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from China and the COVAX Facility. 1.24 million people had been vaccinated, according to the government.

April 18 (1)Cambodia reports 5,771 confirmed cases with 39 deaths. The country imposed a 2-week lockdown in Phnom Penh and Ta Khmau city from 15 to 28 April.

(2)Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health insists that the Sinovac vaccine can protect people against the coronavirus amid social media concern with the immunity development.

April 20 The number of confirmed cases in Thailand rises to 45,185. The death tolls are up to 108, according to the CCSA.

April 21 China has administered over 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far, according to the NHC.

April 24 The fourth batch of Sinovac vaccine with 500,000 doses from China arrives in Thailand, according to the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok.

April 26 The third batch of China-donated vaccines, the Sinopharm vaccine, arrives in Laos. The country reports 436 confirmed cases with no deaths.

April 27 The B.1.617 variant of Covid-19 first found in India has been detected in at least 17 countries, according to the WHO.

April 29 Thailand's CCSA announces that all arrivals from overseas will be required to take 14-day mandatory quarantine for entering the country. The government grants permission to the private sector to import Covid-19 vaccines, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) President Suphan Mongkolsutee.

April 30 China's NHC reports 90,671 confirmed cases and 4,636 deaths in the mainland. The number of confirmed cases in Thailand is 65,153 with 203 deaths. There are 757 confirmed cases with no deaths in Laos, 142,817 confirmed cases with 3,209 deaths in Myanmar, 13,402 confirmed cases with 93 deaths in Cambodia, and 2,928 confirmed cases with 35 deaths in Vietnam.

May 1 Thailand’s Public Health Ministry launches the Mor Phrom (Doctors Ready) Line official account for the public to register for Covid-19 vaccination. Other channels for registration include provincial health offices and public hospitals. The priority groups are people over 60 years old and people who have chronic diseases such as severe respiratory syndrome, heart and coronary diseases, kidney diseases, cancer patients under treatment,

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May 7 cerebrovascular diseases, and obese patients weighing 100 kilograms or having a body mass index exceeding 35. The vaccination will start on June 7.

The NHC reports that more than 270.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines had been administered across China.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Thailand has approved 3 Covid-19 vaccines for use in the country, including AstraZeneca, Sinovac, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine so far, according to FDA Secretary-General Dr. Phaisan Dankhum. Other 3 vaccines, including Moderna, Covaxin, and Sputnik V, are under consideration.

Lao National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control announces to continue imposing the lockdown until May 20. The country has imposed a lockdown in Vientiane since April 22. There are 1,026 confirmed cases with no deaths in Laos. Medical experts and equipment from Vietnam and China arrive in Vientiane to help the country fight against the pandemic today.

(1)The Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker website developed by professors from the McGill University’s School of Population and Global Health, Canada states that 326 Covid-19 vaccines were under clinical trials, 14 vaccines, including China’s Sinopharm and Sinovac, hadbeen approved by at least one country.

(2)Vietnam’s Ministry of Health officially extend the quarantine period from 14 days to 21 days to contain the spread of Covid-19.

1 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine from China arrive in Thailand, according to Thailand's Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO).

(1) Thailand’s National Communicable Disease Committee approves China’s Sinovac vaccine for people aged 60 and over. However, the WHO reported that it has a low level of confidence in the

quality of evidence showing the vaccine has a low risk of serious adverse effects for adults above 60.

May 8 (2) Vietnam reports first death from the adverse effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to the Health Ministry. The official cause of death was registered as anaphylaxis.

(3) The WHO approves China’s Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use. It is the sixth vaccine to receive WHO validation and the first Chinese-made vaccine to receive emergency authorization from the WHO. The vaccine efficacy for symptomatic and hospitalized diseases was estimated to be 79 percent. The WHO has recommended the vaccine for people aged 18 to 59 years. The second jab should be received 3-4 weeks after the first jab.

Myanmar’s Health and Sports Ministry reports 142,947 confirmed cases with 3,210 deaths in the country.

May 9 Laos reports the first fatality from the Covid-19, a 53year-old Vietnamese woman, in the country.

May 10 Thailand found the first detections of the Indian variant in the country in a Thai woman and her son arriving from Pakistan. The country records 85,005 confirmed cases with 421 deaths.

May 11 (1)The 3rd batch of Sinovac vaccines from China arrives in Cambodia. More than 1.82 million people had been vaccinated so far. The total number of confirmed cases in the country is 20,223. The death toll is 131.

(2) The NHC reports 90,799 confirmed cases with 4,636 deaths in mainland China.

May 12 The WHO reveals that the Indian Covid-19 variant (B.1.617) has been found in 44 countries. It was first found in India in October last year. It is more dangerous than the original version ofthe virus as it is eithermore transmissible, deadly or can get past some vaccine protections.

May 13 China inaugurates a national administration of disease prevention and control. It is a viceministerial level agency managed by the NHC. It is responsible for formulating policies for the prevention and control of infectious diseases and the supervision and management of public health.

May 14 (1) WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls on rich countries to donate vaccines to the COVAX for the inoculation in poor countries. He also warns that this year will be more deadly from the pandemic.

(2) Thailand’s Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) has procured a total of 5.5 million tablets of the anti-viral drug Favipiravir to supply the demand for Covid-19 treatment. The country uses about 50,000 Favipiravir tablets per day to treat Covid-19 patients, according to GPO Deputy Director Sirikul Metheerangsan.

(3) China has approved an inactivated Covid-19 vaccine developed by Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Company Limited for emergency use. The company has started related work for the Phase 3 clinical trial.

May 15 (1)A total of 1 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine is delivered to Thailand, according to the Chinese Embassy in Thailand. The country has received a total of 4.5 million Sinovac doses in 7 installments.

(2)The NHC reports that more than 392.9 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines had been administered across China.

May 16 (1)A study by the Center of Excellent in Clinical Virology of the Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University shows that the efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine is 99.49 percent with recipients developing antibody responses 4 weeks after their second jabs. 65.9 percent of recipients developed antibody responses 3 weeks after the first jab.

(2)The fourth batch of Sinovac vaccines purchased from the Sinovac Biotech arrives in Cambodia. The country has vaccinated about 2.06 million people so far. The total number of confirmed cases is 22,184 with 150 deaths.

May 20 (1) Thailand’s GPO procured 2 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine from the SinovacBiotech. It received 500,000 doses on May 15. Another 1.5 million doses arrive today. The vaccine will be handed over to the Department of Disease Control to distribute to vaccination centers and hospitals. The CCSA reports 119,585 confirmed cases with 703. The total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country is 2,540,116.

(2) Chinese citizens living in Thailand begin to be vaccinated under China’s Spring Sprout program to inoculate Chinese nationals living and working abroad. There are around 150,000 Chinese citizens in Thailand. They receive the Sinovac vaccine.

May 21 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposes a US$50 billion plan to end the pandemic. It aims to have at least 60 percent of the world’s population vaccinated by the end of 2022.

May 24 Cambodia’s Ministry of Health reports 25,761 confirmed cases with 179 deaths. 2.27 million people have already been vaccinated so far.

May 25 (1)The Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) in Thailand deniesthat itis involvedin the Sinovac Biotech and the import of the Sinovac vaccine by the Thai government.

(2)There are 5 Covid-19 variants in Thailand so far, including original SARS-CoV-2 from Wuhan, China, UK variant (B1.117), Brazilian variant (P.1), Indian variant (B1.617), and South African variant (B1.351), according to the CCSA. The Department of Medical Science passes the quality inspection of 9 production lots of the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by Siam Bioscience. Moreover, the Royal Gazette announces that the Chulabhorn Royal Academy was

granted the authority to procure alternative vaccines to support the government vaccination campaign and the country's needs for the vaccine.

May 28 (1) Sinopharm’s Covilo vaccine is the 5th Covid-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in Thailand by the FDA. It is an inactivated vaccine developed by Sinopharm’ssubsidiary Beijing Institute of Biological Product Limited. The importer is Bio Genetech Limited.

(2) For the first time, the Chinese Center forDisease Control and Prevention releases the adverse reactions data for massive inoculation of the Covid19 vaccine. The data shows that a total of 31,434 adverse reactions were reported among 265 million doses used between December 15, 2020, and April 30, 2021. 82.96 percent of adverse reactions are normal reactions such as fever and swelling. The NHC reports that a total of 584 million doses have been administered nationwide.

May 29 Vietnam discovers a combination of the Indian and British variants of Covid-19. A new variant spread quickly by air, according to the Health Ministry.

May 31 There are 91,099 confirmed cases with 4,636 deaths in China, 159,792 confirmed cases with 1,031 deaths in Thailand, 143,629 confirmed cases with 3,217 deaths in Myanmar, 30,096 confirmed cases with 214 deaths in Cambodia, 7,321 confirmed cases with 47 deaths in Vietnam, and 1,912 confirmed cases with 3 deaths in Laos.

June 1 The WHO approves the Sinovac vaccine for emergency use. It is the second Chinese vaccine to receive approval. The vaccine is for use in adults 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule with an interval of 2-4 weeks. It prevents symptomatic disease in 51 percent of those vaccinated and prevents severe Covid-19 and hospitalization in 100 percent of the studied population.

The WHO has decided to refer to the Covid-19 variants by using letters of the Greek alphabet as

June 2

June 3

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June 7 follows; Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1), and Delta (B.1.617.2) to avoid the possible stigmatization. They will be defined as Variants of Interest (VOIs) and Variants of Concern (VOCs). The assessment bases on the risk posed to global public health.

China has provided more than 350 million doses of vaccines to the international community, including vaccine aid to over 80 countries and vaccine exports to over 40 countries. The first batch of Sinopharm vaccines to be provided to COVAX starts the production on May 31. The country has announced to provide the first batch of 10 million doses of vaccines to the COVAX, according to Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

The NHC reports that over 723 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines had been administered across China.

(1) Laos extends the lockdown until June 19 due to the ongoing pandemic. The country records 1,952 confirmed cases with 3 deaths.

(2) China approves the emergency use of the Sinovac vaccine for childrenaged 3-17, becoming the first country to approve those as young as 3 years old.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issues a dispatch to ministries and local authorities in the country on avoiding excessive Covid-19 measures that cause negative impacts on business and production activities.

China has completed shipment of vaccines and matching syringes to 66 countries and 1 international organization, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The country is organizing vaccine aids for 88 countries and 4 international organizations.

Thailand starts a nationwide vaccination for Thai and foreign nationals. The Public Health Ministry launches the updated version of www.

Thailandintervac.com for foreigners living in Thailand to register for vaccination. The registration first opens to foreigners aged 60 years and over and for those with chronic illness.

June 8 (1)Cambodia receives a new batch of Chinese vaccines, including the Sinopharm vaccine donated by the Chinese government and the Sinovac vaccine purchased from the SinovacBiotech, according to the Health Ministry. Almost 4.97 million Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the country, with 2.2 million people fully vaccinated.

(2)Thailand’s Royal Gazette announces to allow local and private organizations to procure Covid-19 vaccines from government agencies, namely, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization, the National Vaccine Institute, the Thai Red Cross Society, and the Chulabhorn Royal Academy.

June 9 The Chulabhorn Royal Academy in Thailand sets the price of theSinopharm vaccine at 888 baht per dose. The price includes transport, storage, and insurance against side effects of the vaccine. It does not include service and medical charges.

June 10 (1)Thailand records 187,538 confirmed cases. The death toll rises to 1,375, according to the CCSA. The total number of Covid-19 vaccines administered in the country is up to 5,443,743. The country ranks 80th in the global list of most cases. The top of the list is the US, followed by India, Brazil, France, and Turkey. Thailand receives another 1 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine.

(2)Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin says at a press conference that more than 1.18 million overseas Chinese in more than 150 countries have been inoculated with Chinese or foreign vaccines under the Spring Sprout program. More than 200,000 foreign nationals in China have been vaccinated so far.

June 11 The Department of Medical Science of Thailand reveals that 88.48 percent of Covid-19 cases in the

country are of the Alpha variantfirst found in the UK, while 8.32 percent is the Delta variant and 0.62 percent is the Beta variant.

June 12 (1) Cambodia receives a new batch of the Sinopharm vaccine purchased from China. The country has received more than 8 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from China and the COVAX Facility. It administers more than 5.22 million doses to its people, with 2.39 million of them fully vaccinated. There are 37,959 confirmed cases with 320 deaths in the country so far.

(2) Vietnam reports 1,024 confirmed cases with 58 deaths.

June 13 The NHC had received a report of 91,451 confirmed cases with 4,636 deaths in mainland China.

June 14 The Chulabhorn Royal Academy (CRA) of Thailand opens registration for the Sinopharm vaccine. 6,938 organizations have applied for vaccines for 3.18 millionof theirstaff on the first day of registration.

June 16 (1)The new variant named Lambda was classified as a globalVariant of Interest (VoI) on June 14. It is first identified in Peru. So far, it has been identified in 29 countries, according to the WHO.

(2)Thailand’s CRA announces that it would pay 1 million baht in compensation to the family of Sinopharm recipients who die or ina coma from the vaccine. Medical fees will be covered at a maximum of 30,000 baht in case recipients are hospitalized after the jab. The insurance will last for 1 year.

June 17 Laos reports 2,033 confirmed cases with 3 deaths. Expatriates residing in the country can apply for free of charge vaccination, but they cannot choose the brand of the vaccine, according to the Department of Health.

June 19 (1)Cambodia receives a new batch of the Sinovac vaccine purchased from China. The country reports 42,052 confirmed cases. It detects the first cases of

the Delta variant from people arriving from Thailand by land. The death toll is up to 414, according to the Health Ministry.

(2)Laos extends the lockdown until July 4 to contain the spread of the virus, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

(3)The NHC reports that China has administered more than 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines.

June 20 (1) Thailand receives the first batch of Sinopharm vaccines imported by the CRA. There are 17,070 organizations and companies registered for the vaccine. The country records 218,131 confirmed cases with 1,629 so far, according to the CCSA.

(2) Vietnam receives 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China. Priorities are given to vaccinating Chinese nationals, Vietnamese who travel to China for work, and personnel who work in the northern border area.

June 21 Laos starts the Covid-19 vaccination drive for people aged over 60 with the Sinopharm vaccine, according to the Ministry of Health. More than 700,000 people had received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, while 400,000 people were fully vaccinated.

June 23 2 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine arrive in Thailand. China has delivered 12 batches of vaccines totaling 10.5 million doses to the country so far, according to the Chinese Embassy in Thailand.

June 28 Cambodia receives a new batch of the Sinovac vaccine purchased from China. The country launched an inoculation drive on February 10. It has planned to vaccinate at least 10 million of 16 million population by the end of this year.

June 29 Thailand’s FDA has warned medics to avoid vaccinating the Sinovac vaccine if they find any abnormality caused by improper temperature during storage or transportation. It recalls 110 vials that are no longer suitable for injection. However, the